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Who's ready for some Saturday hockey action? With the weekend finally arriving, the Carolina Hurricanes will travel to UBS Arena in Elmont to do battle with the New York Islanders. It is time to check out our NHL odds series where our Hurricanes-Islanders prediction and pick will be revealed.
The Hurricanes last saw action on Thursday where they strung together a stellar outing against the Minnesota Wild that eventually led to a decisive 5-2 victory. As its stands, the Hurricanes enter play with an impressive 28-9-8 record and sit in the first place within the Metropolitan Division.
As for the Islanders, they have gone down in defeat in seven of their last eight matchups overall and now see their season hanging in the balance with only 51 points generated on the year. Simply put, things need to change in a hurry if New York wants any shot at stealing a playoff bid by the conclusion of the regular season.
Here are the Hurricanes-Islanders NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Hurricanes-Islanders Odds
Carolina Hurricanes: -1.5 (+144)
New York Islanders: +1.5 (-178)
Over: 5.5 (-106)
Under: 5.5 (-114)
How To Watch Hurricanes vs. Islanders
TV: ESPN+
Stream: NHLPP/ESPN+
Time: 7:30 ET/4:30 PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Hurricanes Could Cover The Spread
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Above all else, it is hard to put into words just how dominant this roster has been as we now exceed the halfway mark of the regular season scheduled slate. When Carolina was last out on the ice, they excelled at forcing the Minnesota Wild to commit a slew of costly penalties. By the time the clock hit triple-zeroes in the third period, the Hurricanes capitalized by converting on two of the seven power-play opportunities that were handed to them.
On paper, Carolina surprisingly has struggled when supplied with the extra-man advantage as they possess only an 18% conversion rate on the power-play attack. Without a doubt, the ‘Canes must be as sharp as possible on the penalty-attack to make the Islanders pay in a big way whenever they make mistakes.
Most importantly, the one area that the Hurricanes can take advantage of will fall into the category of the amount of shots that they are willing to fire on net. In fact, only two other teams around the league have generated more shots on goal this season than Carolina. Whenever the Hurricanes have the puck in the opposing team's zone, they often times use an aggressive mindset that usually leads to peppering the goalie with an abundant amount of shots. Against the Wild, the Hurricanes tallied up nearly 30 shots on goal en route to the victory and will try to follow up a similar formula against the Islanders this evening.
One possible difference-maker that could have a major impact on this one will be the surging center in Martin Necas. Not only does Necas lead the team with 23 assists, but he also has combined for 41 points en route to becoming one of the more explosive and sturdy playmakers on this Carolina roster.
Why The Islanders Could Cover The Spread
Although the Islanders do in fact see themselves in a tie for the final playoff spot when it comes to the hectic Wild Card race out in the Eastern Conference, this won't last for that much longer if New York cannot figure out a way to string together more wins. Alas, a winning and spread-covering formula could be implemented as soon as this evening if New York is able to find more consistency offensively. On paper, New York averages roughly 2.96 goals per game which rank near the bottom half of the league in scoring so far.
Obviously, the Islanders cannot afford to come out lackluster in the scoring department. If New York is going to have some sort of offensive explosion later tonight, then keep your eyes peeled on center Matthew Barzal to continue his strong start to the 2022-2023 campaign. As it stands, Barzal has found a way to dish out 30 assists while combining for 41 points altogether on the season. Simply put, Barzal is an elite skater that is nearly impossible to defend and could cause some fits for the Hurricanes' defensive unit.
Not only will the offense need to be clicking on all cylinders, but receiving a steady amount of stellar goaltending play will be a must. While it is expected that Ilya Sorokin will be in net for Saturday night's start, the 27-year-old goalie has allowed seven goals over the course of his last two stars and will be seeking a rebound performance. On the year, Sorokin has posted top-five statistics in goals-against and save percentage, so the odds are quite high for the Islanders goaltender to return to form and take care of business.
Final Hurricanes-Islanders Prediction & Pick
As badly as the Islanders need to win this game, their recent inconsistent play will end up being the deciding factor against a Hurricanes squad that rarely makes mistakes. Expect Carolina to pot an empty-netter goal late to cover the spread.
Final Hurricanes-Islanders Prediction & Pick: Hurricanes -1.5 (+144)
